Police seek suspects after 2 shot at mall near San Francisco

Police investigate at the scene of a shooting at the Tanforan Mall in San Bruno, Calif., Tuesday, July 2, 2019. Police are searching for suspects after at least two people were wounded in a mall shooting near San Francisco on Tuesday that led to region-wide transit delays at rush hour. (AP Photo/Stephanie Mullen)

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SAN BRUNO, Calif. (AP) — A shooting that caused panic at a mall near San Francisco left two teens with serious gunshot wounds and led to transit delays during rush hour Tuesday as police stopped a train to search for two suspects, authorities said.

Investigators believe the shooters, both “young males,” fired at each other with handguns at the Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno, said police Chief Ed Barberini.

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital was treating two teen boys who were hit by gunfire, according to spokesman Brent Andrew. One of the victims is critical and the other is in serious condition, he said.

Two other people who were hurt were treated and released, but the nature of their injuries was unknown, said San Bruno Fire Chief David Cresta.

Investigators believe at least one of the shooters, and maybe both, fled on a train. The San Bruno train station, which is adjacent to the mall, was closed for several hours but reopened and train service resumed shortly after 8 p.m., authorities said.

Police briefly closed the 12th Street Oakland Station across San Francisco Bay while officers searched a train there, Bay Area Rapid Transit said.

Police warned people to stay away as SWAT officers descended on the mall to investigate the gunfire that erupted around 4 p.m. and sent shoppers scrambling for exits.

“I saw people running and I heard pow, pow, pow, pow!” shopper George Castro told KPIX-TV. “People were yelling, ‘Get out of the mall, get out of the mall, there’s a shooting!'”

Eric Rosales said he and his family heard two or three gunshots as they arrived to see a movie at the shopping center about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of downtown San Francisco.

“We dashed inside the theater,” said Rosales, of San Bruno. “We were like in a crouched position, just trying to hide out.”